Last year at this time Mackenzie Skapski was freezing out opposing Western Hockey League teams from scoring on the Kootenay ICE as the club’s number one goaltender.

And today he was called up by New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather from the NHL team’s American Hockey League farm club Hartford Wolf Pack, due to a day-to-day injury suffered by superstar goalie Henrik Lundqvist.

Skapski, 20, has appeared in 24 games with the Wolf Pack this season, posting a 12-7-3 record, along with a 2.38 GAA, a .914 SV%, and two shutouts. He is tied for fifth among AHL rookie goaltenders in shutouts, is tied for sixth among AHL rookie goaltenders in GAA, is tied for eighth among AHL rookie goaltenders in wins, and is tied for ninth among AHL rookie goaltenders in save percentage.

The 6-3, 191-pounder posted a personal three-game winning streak in his last three contests with the Wolf Pack (1.34 GAA, .943 SV%, one shutout), and he helped Hartford earn at least one point in each of his last five appearances (4-0-1 record, 2.14 GAA, .911 SV%, one shutout over the span).

Skapski registered a 7-3-2 record, along with a 2.22 GAA, a .920 SV%, and one shutout in his last 12 AHL appearances, and he allowed two goals or fewer in eight of those 12 contests. He made his AHL debut on Oct. 24 vs. Albany, and he posted his first career AHL win/shutout while making his first career AHL start on Oct. 26 vs. Norfolk.

The Abbotsford resident was originally selected by the Rangers in the sixth round, 170th overall, of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.

He played for the ICE for four seasons, between 2010 and 2014.

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